


forget me nots.

by librastrai



Series: coriander chronicles. [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exes, F/M, Kitchen Sex, Love Confessions, Nipple Play, Penis In Vagina Sex, Porn With Plot, Raven is a bad mom lmao, only 1.5k words of smut, this is like MOSTLY plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:34:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28582824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librastrai/pseuds/librastrai
Summary: When her hand grips his wrist, it’s almost like they’re back in Beacon. Like this is a sparring session and not the culmination of near twenty years of grief and anger and history; the way there’s an ache between them that burrowed beneath their skin and stayed there. Festering. They needed this.*Forget Me Nots, meaningfidelity and remembrance.part of the Coriander Chronicles series.
Relationships: Raven Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long
Series: coriander chronicles. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1483451
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	forget me nots.

**Author's Note:**

> it's FINALLY done, once again dedicated to my soulmate. ♡✨
> 
> the back half of this was spurred on by spite because v8 gypped us out of more raven scenes like? WHERE IS SHE??  
> i'd say enjoy the porn but it's only 1.6k out of nearly 8k so sorry if that's what you came here for. i ended up taking this in a _totally_ different direction, especially in the type of porn too. still, i hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> remember, owl's love comments. ♡

Taiyang could never pin down what exactly attracted him to Raven.

Oh he’d asked himself a million and one times, fielded the same question from plenty of others, Qrow especially, his dusky red gaze narrowed and questioning, with that familiar lopsided grin and a “she’s just _Raven_ , y’know?”

Just Raven. As if she could ever be described as just anything; the woman was a natural phenomenon encased in a flourish of red and black. There was _something_ about her that’d ensnared him from the moment they’d met in the forest, first day of Beacon and Taiyang on his ass while she stared down at him with those sharp, red eyes. Seeming to pick him apart at the seams without a single word spoken. Until she got what she wanted and he got a “ _you’ll do_ ” in return.

If he knew how it would end, the heartache, the lonely nights, the tear stained sheets and how it felt like she’d clawed out his heart with her nails and left a gaping hole in its place . . . would he have gone through with it all? Given Raven his heart so freely, so openly? When he thinks of those sweeter nights, the times when her harsh edges fell to soft touches and the way she murmured his name so sweetly; how she gave him one of the greatest gifts he could hope for?

He’d do it all again without question or remorse.

So why does he hesitate, having seen the familiar black feather fall and feeling his heart squeeze painfully in his chest before running into the thicket of the trees, when he finally comes across her? Looking so _small_ , Raven was curled in on herself as she leant against the thick trunk, one pale hand curled into a fist. Though no sound rose from her, the way her shoulders shook beneath the mane of ink dark hair gave away how she silently sobbed.

When he speaks, his voice cracks, betrays near two decades of emotion in a single word.

“ _Raven_ —”

"Don't!" Her body stilled, knuckles turning white with how she gripped at the rough bark, ignoring the way it bit at her palm, "just ... don't."

What could he do? How many times over the years had he imagined Raven returning, what he would say to her, how she would feel in his arms again. Ignoring the warning (the way his heart _ached_ ); Taiyang took a step forward. And another. Heart feeling like a lump in his throat, ready to choke him —

The feeling of cold, dust laden steel was familiar against his throat in an ancient way and the way crimson eyes glared down at him, even full of tears, felt like _home_.

"Why can't you ever just leave me alone?!" Teeth bared almost like she was going to rip his throat out, yet there were no warning bells. No siege sirens, just the way he felt alight with her touch. The way her fingers came to grip at the front of his shirt. "You're always there, always! With all your pathetic hope and naivete and preaching, always ..." Raven couldn't finish, couldn't spit the last insult at him. For all the insults the bandit had thrown his way, some without fire and others with a burning rage, confusion twisting at her gut; this one she couldn't say.

The judgement she'd seen in their daughters eyes, the disgust ... it wasn't there.

The mixture of love and pain hurt more.

“ _Raven_ —”

Whatever he wanted to say, wanted to try and soothe those aching, raw wounds with, he never got the chance when the bandit silenced all of it with a kiss, harsh and unyielding and full of an ache. A _need_. Raven prided herself on being so strong, the leader the Branwen tribe had been waiting for, a type of fire made woman that only came once a century if they were lucky. Any softness or weakness had been drilled out of her during a childhood of surviving in the woods, forever on the move. Once upon a time she’d been a child with big, round, vermilion eyes and a cute button nose. Scabbed knees with bruised knuckles from play fighting too rough with Qrow while the adults around them talked about what raid would be planned next. Neither her nor Qrow knew that the raid planned would be their first, first time pillaging. First time causing destruction. First time ... first time fulfilling their names and bringing murder wherever they went.

Raven thinks of their daughter, same wide eyes only with a lilac hue, same scabbed knees, doing the same and a small part of her feels sick. The part they could never manage to kill. The part _he_ loved.

Breaking off the kiss, she tries to ignore the way Taiyang’s hands still linger on the soft curve of her hips, mindful of where Asbrú is sheathed. How indigo hues gaze up at her almost reverently, even with the sharp sting of fear echoing like an old friend. A painful reminder that she’d done this before. Used him up and left him high and dry, with a baby on his hip and a hole in his chest, bleeding like a slow, decaying wound. Would he truly let her do that again? _Ruin him_ only with a kiss?

Taiyang answered the question for her, snapping himself out of the intoxication of a time long past for both of them by carefully but firmly pushing her off of him. A tightness in the strong line of his jaw and Raven felt her brows knit together as she rested on her legs, pulled underneath her like she was taught from a young age. She waits with bated breath, waiting for the inevitable; for him to tell her that she had to get lost. This wasn’t her home anymore, not since she had fled from terrifying new surroundings to a sharp familiarity and killed her soul to do so.

Instead, he does none of that. He doesn’t even tell her to do anything. Just gets up and stands there for a moment with his eyes looking over her like nothing has changed, almost contemplative, and then he points a thumb back at the cabin.

“Tea’s on.”

It’s almost light, like there isn’t all this messy, broken, jagged history between them that claws at both of their ribs, but Raven isn’t a fool. She catches the sharpness in his gaze and the forced veneer of calm, that affable grin he’d perfected long since his own lonely childhood; and she notices the waver in his step as Taiyang turns and wanders back to the cabin. A high yap of Zwei greeting him at the door and Raven finds herself following him.

She isn’t a fool to think nothing has changed. But she also won’t turn down what is essentially a moment of peace either.

* * *

“You remembered.”

Vermilion gaze, ringed with dark circles and slightly reddened at the edges, flitted down to the cup of tea sat down in front of her on the coaster. Waiting a moment before gloved hands came to clasp either side, a habit picked up a long time ago when they would drink together the mornings before class as the sun rose, Raven blew gently before taking a long sip. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. Shifting . . . took a lot out of her; maybe not in aura but in stamina, in mental fortitude. Experiencing the world in a whole different form was not something done lightly and Raven preferred to keep her strength up, only shifting and inviting Ozpin’s magic to change her when she needed to. Often when there was no other choice.

“Kinda hard to forget when I've made it so many times.” Taiyang says it with a breezy laugh, but doesn’t follow with the fact that for months after she left, he’d carry on making her a morning cup and leave it on the windowsill. “Drink up. You look like you could use it.” There was that tempered, protective henpecking. careful, like if he pressed too hard or too quickly, she’d bolt off again. Raven couldn’t blame him for thinking that. even though Asbrú had been set aside in it’s holster, resting against the cabinet in the corner so neither had to worry about her just disappearing.

A throb of pain at her temple and eyes closed for a moment, low breath sucked in between her teeth. One of the many wonderful side effects of the change; Ozpin had said it wouldn’t draw on their aura, _fucking magic_ , but nothing came without a price and shifting from experiencing the world as a bird to as a human was an arduous one. With the length of her journey, the throb would develop into a migraine before long. Fucking perfect.

The rattle of two pills being set before her on the table made the bandit crack an eye open, inquisitive. Confused. Taiyang only took his seat on the opposite side of her again, taking a sip from his own cup with a knowing glance. “I’d take them quick. You know how you get if you leave them too long.” Raven’s nose scrunched up at that, almost wanting to obstinately throw the pills back in his face and huff that _no, she didn’t know how she got._ But aside the knowing amusement, there was genuine care in his gaze and so, with a sigh, she tossed the pills into her mouth and swallowed them down with a drink of her tea. “Good girl.” Her brow rose at that and his hands rose in defence. _Pushing his luck._

“So ...”

A sigh and some of his affability, all that put upon charm melted away to show a man who was just _tired_ , finger and thumb coming to pinch at the bridge of his nose. This was all too normal, it felt like she’d only been away for a week, not nearly nineteen years. He couldn’t ... he couldn’t act like everything was okay. Like Raven hadn’t shattered his heart into a billion pieces and left him to try and pick them up, all while raising a baby.

Raven shifted in her seat, almost a little uncomfortable. Taiyang shouldn’t take pleasure out of that but he does, a tiny bit. Enough to make him almost feel bad for her but he shouldn’t, because _she_ was the one who left, not him. Taiyang stayed, he **always** stayed. Everyone else left.

“Raven, why are you here?”

She blinked. once, twice, almost like she was processing every word. Pulling it apart like some great riddle when really, it was the simplest question there was. Why was she here, of all places? She could’ve flown back to the camp. Back to sharp eyes and biting questions. _Where’s Vernal_?

Oh gods, _Vernal._ Raven had been able to ignore it all while flying; emotions didn’t ... process the same, while she was shifted, she relied on instinct and memory. But now, everything seemed to hit all at once and it almost choked her. Haven, right by Cinder’s side. Seeing Yang, seeing Ruby, her own next to a child that wasn’t. A possessive sort of anger burned in her chest at that and Raven couldn’t help the glare levelled at the man sitting across from her. The muscles in his jaw cinched in response.

Being frozen. Her yell for Vernal, ice shrouding her as Vernal’s screams echoed the vault. The way the magic entrenched there _sung_ to her. Fighting. The feeling of Grimm around her neck. Cinder gone. Vernal gone. Everyone was _gone_ , it was just her and then it wasn’t. Yang . . . standing brave and bold, and Raven had tried her best to tear her to shreds as some form of sick, fucked up self defence against her own mistakes.

In the end she’d only been able to whimper out a pathetic sorry before doing what she did best. Running.

Running back _home_.

“I ... I don’t know.”

Taiyang couldn’t help the scoff that followed, or the hurt that echoed it. She didn’t know. What, was he just the last place she had, had she burned all her other bridges? So certain that he’d be waiting with open arms after nearly _two decades_ — no. He had dealt with many things but Raven didn’t get to come back in and ruin everything after she left them all without a word.

“Raven, listen. You can’t stay—”

“I saw Yang.” A beat. A hardness in her stare. “Ruby and Qrow too.”

His heart froze, squeezed almost painfully in his chest like it hurt to breathe. He’d sent Yang off to go look for Ruby, knowing he wasn’t gonna’ be able to stop her. The girls would find each other, They’d have Qrow. He knew she’d gone to look for Raven, he couldn’t exactly hide everything about her from their child forever, but he had damn well tried hard enough to. Yang ... Yang ached for so much, for something to fill the hole Raven left behind and he was afraid that if he told her too much, the wrong thing, that she’d run off too and get herself killed. The incident with the Grimm had been a wake up call, a slap to the face that he needed.

“You, you saw them? All of them? Are they okay, what did Yang say, did—”

With the regret in Raven’s eyes, Taiyang felt like there was a ten ton weight in his gut. An icy fear slithering up his spine, tendrils wrapping around every vertebrae. “Raven, what happened?”

“She knows more than she should. I tried to warn her, to tell her what he’s like but she wouldn’t listen to me. That man, that pathetic old fool has put a target on her back and you sent her to him! Why couldn’t you just keep her here?!”

His mouth fell slack as Raven hissed at him, regret quickly extinguished in the wake of her anger, and Taiyang felt a familiar old flame curl in his gut, one he’d tried so hard to keep tamed over the years. Nothing stopped the way a retaliatory anger stoked inside him. “ _Me?_ Raven, you left us! You ran away, did you expect her to never come looking for you? To go along happily without a mom?”

“You found a replacement pretty quickly.”

The way she sneered at him, his hand gripped at the front of her kimono before either could blink, both trembling in their anger as Taiyang tried to stop, tried to think past the fire overwhelming. But Raven was like a match to gasoline, both of them knew it and she was coming from her own place of hurt. This reckoning had been years in the making.

“ _You left._ ” There was a quiver in his voice, quickly swallowed down but Raven felt it stab between her ribs all the same. This was the closest they’d been in years, heat radiating off of both, residual magic, his own body heat. It was explosive. Dangerous. Addictive. “You fucking left us. Summer,” her teeth bared at the name, “Summer was _here._ She stayed, she helped me, kept me going. Where were you?”

A hand on his wrist and Raven shoved him off, all those pretty defences back up. Back into the mask of being an unfeeling, uncaring, heartless bandit who cared for no one but herself. “Getting replaced.”

His lips parted to snarl something out with teeth bared but Raven had clearly thought her time up in the place she once called home, sharp screech of wood against wood as she rose from the chair, making it scrape back before she stormed out, a flurry of black and red. Taiyang didn’t stop himself, hot on her heels with that damned anger building with every second past. She couldn’t just, she didn’t just get to _leave again._

A confused whine from Zwei as Raven passed him out the door, a defensive bark levelled at the bandit. Neither adult that passed him spared a glance as Taiyang managed to catch up, closing the short distance between them for his hand to grip at her shoulder. He should think rationally. Not just go barging in head first with his head too full, too muffled and a burning in his chest but that’s exactly what he does; fire only stoked more when Raven whirls on her heel to meet his gaze with anger burning in her eyes.

When her hand grips his wrist, it’s almost like they’re back in Beacon. Like this is a sparring session and not the culmination of near twenty years of grief and anger and history; the way there’s an _ache_ between them that burrowed beneath their skin and stayed there. _Festering._ They needed this.

Taiyang follows through with the way she yanks him forward, intending to land her knee into his gut. Only for his hand to grip the front of her kimono like in the kitchen, use his own momentum and a swift swipe of his leg to send Raven on her ass. He’d always been quick on his feet. she’d always been fast on the redraw.

The sensation of her boot against the side of his knee recoiled throughout his leg as Taiyang grit his teeth, felt his stance buckle and the hand mirroring his grip on her kimono not moments before was the briefest warning before her fist met his face. No break but the ache that vibrated out from his jaw in waves almost knocked him sick. Raven was long past playing around, dirt staining her face and a steely determination set in her jaw; he knew she wasn’t holding back. Not like he was because even after all these fucking years, he couldn’t _not._

Didn’t stop him from sending her rolling back along the grassy yard with a boot to her stomach in return.

“Knock it off!” Taiyang had wasted no time in scrambling over to her, hands pressed over her wrists with his thighs aside her hips, the blonde had Raven pinned down with his own body and a tinge of desperation in his voice, ignoring the waves of ache throbbing through his body from his knee and jaw. Anger fading only the slightest bit.

Raven’s only seemed to increase with her imprisonment, vermillion eyes wild and narrowed, pupils pin pricked as she tried fruitlessly to buck the much heavier man off of her. Ignoring the way her stomach ached, her face still stained with grass and dirt. the magic inside of her recoiled and seemed to burn in response to the heightened nature of her emotions after so long of them being steady, _reliable._ Without Asbrú, finally coming face to face with a hurt she had caused so soon after the last ... she felt vulnerable. Exposed. Weak. It only increased her futile efforts to break free. “Get off of me!”

“Not until you listen to me!”

A frustration laden scream bled out as Raven squirmed, bucked, thrashed; in the end only stopping to leave both exhausted and panting, bruised and battered. Eventually her frantic attempts to try and break free of Taiyang’s steadfast hold slowed, coming to a stop as the dark haired woman settled for glaring up at him, the blonde only narrowing his eyes in return. “Rae,” her gut twisted at that, a tremble in her bottom lip that she couldn’t kill quick enough for him not to see and indigo gaze softened the slightest bit, “we can’t leave it like this ... _please._ ”

The broken note in his plea seemed to be the final straw needed, the maiden's entire body falling slack as she just stared up at him, the fire slowly bleeding out to a small flame. A moment passed before Raven nodded. “... Fine.” Relief washed over Taiyang’s features and with a slight hesitance, he slowly loosened his grip on her wrists, wincing at the red that stood out against the pale hue of her skin. “Listen, we—”

_Crack!_

A pained yell echoed in the yard, making birds flutter out of their trees as Taiyang’s hand came to clasp over his face. The warm, wet sensation of blood dripping down his face and staining his palm following. Stumbling back, he struggled to breathe through the cloying, sticky warmth, mind swirling as Raven didn’t fare much better. Blood stained her forehead, which felt like it had an ice pick digging against her temples, with the culmination of overstimulation from shifting and using her head as a blunt weapon in headbutting her husband.

Quick on the redraw, Raven took advantage of Taiyang’s momentary shocked stupor to scramble from underneath him, raising to her feet shakily with trembling legs, before setting off. Ignoring the way Taiyang yelled after her, the groan that was followed by the sound of him running after her, or the nauseating ache that was very quickly beginning to overwhelm. She had to get out of there. _This was all a mistake._

She shouldn’t use it, not in this state. but desperate times called for desperate measures and the familiar warmth of Ozpin’s magic shrouded her body as she ran, ink dark feathers scattering behind her like a trail of breadcrumbs. The shift was never ... never alienating. It almost felt like she was always destined for this. A bird set free from all earthly ties.

“Raven, stop!”

The entire world shifted. It was all so different, so freeing. This was where she belonged, the only place she belonged anymore, where everything made sense because she didn’t have to think. Just do.

_Something was wrong._

The world was greying at the edges. losing it’s shine. Something was _wrong_ , she thinks and then almost recoils at the fact she could think. Instinct was failing, the nausea from before her shift creeping in, tendrils choking her, settling in her gut and Raven wanted to gasp for breath but she couldn’t. Grey was quickly overtaking everything, all those brilliant, beautiful colours slipping away, fading, falling, falling fast,

_What’s happening?_

“ **_Raven!_ **”

The world fell into darkness.

* * *

When she woke, the world was still dark.

The violent jolt back to consciousness had her scrambling, looking around for anchors to keep her from drowning in her own panic. Moonlight bled in through the skylight, bathing the middle of the room in it’s silvery glow. Thankfully the double bed was nestled into the corner, still allowing the woman to be shrouded in some darkness, which the dull ache in her skull was very much grateful for.

A slow breath inhaled and Raven closed her eyes, trying to focus through the pained haze on her other senses. The silence in the room save for the flutter of wings and _skritch skratch_ of the woodland creatures outside the window. The feeling of clean cotton sheets beneath her fingers, soft blankets draped over her. the scent of coffee drifting from under the bedroom door.

Her hand slowly raised from where it was to rub at her forehead, wincing slightly at the fresh wave of pain it prompted, but also noting the bandages there.

_What happened?_

Try as she may, Raven couldn’t remember much. Sorting through glimpses of memories; her and Taiyang fighting in the front yard. Her running. Flying. Feeling free.

Falling?

 _You idiot._ Disgust bled through her self admonition, for being so stupid. She hadn’t exhausted herself so thoroughly in years, not since first adjusting to the magic when it was bestowed to her and Qrow in the fourth year of beacon. Ozpin had been sure to warn them that while it would not drain their aura, his magic would take what it thought owed in other ways. Overstimulation, feeling drained, difficulty regulating emotion and action if they remained switched for too long ... nothing came without a price.

The sound of humming broke the maiden from her internal reverie, her heart skipped a beat as breath held in her throat. For a split second, on instinct, Raven was helpless in the way her muscles tensed and her fingers curled to grip the sheets. Forcing herself to breathe through it, the bandit leader took a moment to centre herself, feel the thread sheets beneath her fingers, the shimmer of light noticeable even with her eyes closed, the humming … for a moment she could fool herself into believing it was twenty years earlier. A first time mother, wife. A new life where she didn’t have to fight all the time, fight the world, fight her tribe, keeping them in place like a bunch of ravenous wolves.

It was a long lost dream. A life she didn’t belong to anymore.

A sigh and Raven pushed aside the blankets, a shiver running along bare, pale skin in the cool air, before getting up on shaky legs. She’d pushed herself too far. No place to run this time.

The cabin hadn’t changed much in the time she’d been away, dull crimson eyes looking over the familiar tan wood walls; however the photos that hung from them were new. There were a dozen scattered along the wall beside the stairs, featuring Yang and Ruby from their childhood to what looked like little less than a year ago. Before they joined Beacon. Fingers trembled slightly as they brushed over a photograph of Yang, little more than five and with a beaming smile; and if she tried hard enough, the bandit could convince herself she was just a little shaky. That was all.

_Who do you think you are lecturing me?! Stood there, shaking like a scared little girl!?_

She turned away to carry on down the stairs, regret and guilt gnawing at her ribs.

Lingering in the hallway space between the stairs and the kitchen, Raven can’t seem to make herself move from the cover of shadow. Instead, for a moment, she watches. Listens, as Taiyang potters around the kitchen, still humming low to himself while Zwei’s excited pants pepper the air. She feels like an intruder, like she doesn’t belong there. _Did I ever?_ Raven had tried fooling herself to fit in this space once before.

“You gonna’ hide out there all night? Didn’t take you for a coward, Rae.”

Reactionary spark of indignation follows the offhand remark, the dark haired woman scowling as she stepped into the kitchen. Realising, just like old times, she’d done exactly what he wanted by falling for the bait, Raven’s scowl deepened. If it bothered Taiyang, he didn’t let it show as he knelt down to slide the bowl full of wet dog food and tiny, bone shaped biscuits in front of the waiting dog. A pat on the head and Zwei dove in.

When he rises to full height, the first thing Raven notices is the swollen bump on his forehead and the bruising under his eyes, her own forehead aching in sympathy. Well, as much as she could give; it was her who caused it. A wary glance, she didn’t realise she was holding her breath when Taiyang sat down at the table in front of her, foot raising under the table to lightly kick out the one opposite him.

“Sit. We need to talk.”

Raven sits. Waits.

Realizes how _tired_ he looks for the first time since they’d reunited.

Taiyang dragged a hand along his face, mindful of the bruising and his busted nose, before indigo eyes settled on the woman in front of him. She doesn’t want to but Raven sees _everything_ in those eyes; the pain, the grief, the exhaustion. There had been hints of that pain in his eyes when they had been together, always pushed down with an affable smile and a kiss, but now … now there was no reason for him to do so. Everyone that pain could hurt in turn wasn’t there.

It was only them now.

“What you said … about Summer,” her gut aches but she stays silent, “you’re wrong. I loved you, but you _left_ , Raven. What was I supposed to do, stay alone for the rest of my life?”

“You could’ve waited more than a _year_.”

The bandit’s sullen reply only caused the huntsman’s lips to pull into a hard frown. “You don’t get to decide that. You stopped deciding things for this family when you ran away and left me with our daughter who was _barely three months old._ ” Raven’s head dips, the ache in her chest growing, bleeding out. “I didn’t fall in love with Summer because Yang needed a mom, or because I was lonely. I loved her for the same reasons I love you.”

“I warned you, the day we started this.”

A bittersweet laugh follows, Taiyang shaking his head with a half smile tugging at his lips. There was a faraway look to his eyes, like for a single moment, he was 18 again and asking her out.

_I warn you, I’ll break your heart._

_Or maybe I’ll break yours, eh Rae? C’mon, take a chance with me._

Raven’s lips tugged into their own half fond smile, remembering how bold he’d been, how she’d playfully given up with a roll of her eyes and that very same smile on her face. But they couldn’t stay in their memories forever, and her expression fell to sullenness like none of it ever happened. Taiyang’s took on a sadder tinge. _I know you._ He rose from the chair, to walk around the table and crouch beside her. _You don’t know anything._ Raven was almost hesitant, in the way her head stayed low until one tan hand came to raise it, just so their eyes could meet. _Then show me._

“I didn’t listen, because I didn’t believe it. I didn’t wanna’ believe it, Rae. I _wanted_ to believe there was good in you, you’d just … hidden it for so long you didn’t think you were anymore.”

The gnawing in her chest has bled out so far it feels like she’s being swallowed whole, unable to breathe. To her horror, dark eyes feel the telltale burn of tears and on instinct, she braces. Readies herself for the inevitable truth; that he believes her now. That he thinks her cruel, cold, heartless. A monster. _Just like she wanted._

“... I still believe it.”

Eyes blinked, once, twice. Only able to stare for a moment, her mind didn’t even register the hot, wet feeling of a tear slipping down her cheek, or the way that her pale fingers would grasp in the dark lapels of Taiyang’s shirt to pull him up into a desperate kiss. A moment of surprise, there was no hesitation in the way he fell into the kiss, strong hands coming to curl in waves of wild dark hair, need dripping from his touch. Like he was almost afraid that if this stopped, if he let her go, she’d drift away between his very fingertips.

When he practically tugged her onto his lap, lips fervent against hers as he deepened the kiss, Raven felt the ache in her chest mix with a wave of desire, a need to _belong._ To shut out the rest of the world and live in this moment for as long as she could. Her tongue slid against his lips before they parted, her heart skipping a beat in her chest when she felt one warm hand move down from where it was tangled in her hair to pull loose the fastening of her kimono. Tongues sliding against each other in a heated passion as they explored each other’s mouths, Taiyang couldn’t hold back the groan that melted into the kiss when Raven grinded her clothed cunt against his lap. A fevered, heavy need was quickly overtaking the pair, the electric spark that had brought them together nearly two decades ago taking root once more, a hunger in their bellies.

Any other time, Taiyang would’ve cracked a smirk at the _whine_ that spilled from Raven’s lips when he broke the kiss, a veritable pout tugging at the woman’s lips. Now, he could only murmur a soft _hush_ as he pressed a trail of kisses along her jawline, south down her neck and relishing in the way her pulse stuttered under his touch. “ _I got you._ ”

Warmth bloomed at the soft words purred, Raven letting her fingers curl through short, blond hair with a soft hum. Goosebumps had prickled along her pale skin, the slightest flush of red giving hints to just how much this was affecting her; she could already feel the seat of her underwear getting soaked. Too long with no touch as soft, wanting, _needy_ ; had left her raring to dive headfirst into the abyss of desire without a care. To let herself drown in the sensations threatening to overwhelm.

“ _Tai—_ ” The bandit’s mouth fell slack as Taiyang’s head dipped, kimono undone enough that he could push it aside, lips latching onto one rosy pink nipple. Giving it a teasing suck, Raven’s fingers tightened in his hair and she practically rutted herself against his lap, feeling the telltale bulge that told her she wasn’t the only one being affected like a horny teenager. His other hand came up to grasp her breast gently, forefinger and thumb moving to pinch and rub her other nipple between them. A litany of gasps and bit off moans spilled into the air between them; Raven letting her eyes fall shut as Taiyang paid each tit equal attention, moving to take the other nipple into his mouth and let his tongue roll over the sensitive bud, teeth graze with just the _right_ amount of sharpness until Raven was sure she was _dripping_ onto his lap.

Pulling back, the huntsman surveyed his work — pert nipples shiny with his spit and Raven’s cheeks flushed a gorgeous red — with a far too pleased with himself smirk. “Yeah?” He could almost be the picture of innocence with the way he looked up at her, if only she couldn’t feel his cock practically throbbing against her cunt.

Raven took far too much smug pleasure in the way Taiyang’s face fell slack and a pleasured, hazy edge took over his gaze when she let herself grind against him so he could _feel_ just how wet she was, even with the layers between them.

When their lips met again, it was softer this time, though no less passionate. Every inch of their bodies ached for the other, for their touch, to feel each other again in all their entirety. Taiyang wanted to take his time, truly he did, but the feeling of Raven’s hands making quick work of his belt and guiding out his cock with a needy moan; he didn’t hesitate in helping her tug aside her panties and slide every inch into her needy sex.

Perfectly slotted against each other, two pieces of a puzzle. One that they thought wouldn’t be whole again.

“ _Tai … Tai, please, need you to move._ ” The flush on her cheeks has deepened, a tremble to the woman’s voice that doesn’t diminish her strength. It only made him realize just how much he still _loved her_. One hand came to cradle her face, pulling her into a slow, sweet kiss as the other rested on the soft curve of her hip. Time had been kind to them both but Taiyang thinks he would love her no matter what. In fact he knows it.

The air was peppered with soft, hitched moans as Taiyang began to help Raven bounce on his cock, the wet sound of her thighs against his with just how much excitement had dripped from her only making him throb inside her. “ _Fuck_ , feel so good Rae’.” More than good, she felt like _heaven_. If he died and went there, then this was a reason as good as any for him to not go back.

“Shit, ah — _right there._ ” Hot walls of her cunt clenched around him, her fingers digging into his shoulder through the jacket; action prompting him to settle both his hands on her hips and bounce her on his cock faster, making sure she took every inch each time. “ _Oh Gods._ ” Her mouth had fallen slack, lips bitten red and crimson eyes had shut as Raven lost herself to the pleasure.

His own pleasure washed over him in waves, building in the pit of his stomach in a way that had his hips snapping up harsher, fingers digging into the softness of her curves hard enough to leave marks. Just how Raven liked; with the ragged moan that fell from her mouth. Like this, everything fell away. All their history. It was just them, this heat, burning, swallowing them both whole.

“ _Tai, Tai, Tai_ ,” his name spilled into the air like a prayer, soon muffled and melting against his lips as he tugged her into a kiss that was all desire, tongue exploring her mouth with a fevered intensity. He needed her to cum, to hear her fall apart so beautifully. Like a painting brought to life. One he could stare at for _hours_.

One hand moving from her hip, it slipped under the soft fabric of her underwear so the pad of his thumb could rub at her swollen clit; relishing in her ragged gasp that tore from her throat, way her hips jerked. Seeking out more, Raven’s eyes opened and the raw _desire_ burning in those vermillion depths could’ve had him cumming inside her already. Biting the inside of his cheek, Taiyang staved off the hungered desire, instead choosing to drown himself in the sight of Raven on his lap, bouncing on his cock like it was all she could think about while he rubbed and teased at her clit. She was close, by the way her soaked walls were clenching around him, more excitement dripping down his cock to stain the front of his shorts.

“ _C’mon Rae,_ ” his lips brushed against her earlobe, before his teeth latched on to graze with a sharpness that made her toes curl, “ _cum for me._ ” He fucked her on his cock, hard, rougher, all while he shifted so fingers could rub her clit and relish in the way the bandit came undone. Mouth slack and eyes hazy, Raven didn’t even attempt to quiet her moan as her cunt tightened around him and came, helpless to do anything but fall apart in her pleasure.

Taiyang couldn’t think of anything else but how _beautiful_ she looked, how much his cock ached inside her, and desire overwhelmed. Soaked hand gripping her hip, Raven was on her back before she could come to her senses, the huntsman bent over her with a brutal pace set. Her tits bounced with each fevered thrust, a thready moan or whine peppered the air, as he fucked her like he could do nothing else. Just bury himself inside her and chase his pleasure, the feeling of _belonging_ to her.

“ _Fuck, ah. Rae_ —”

“Tai, _oh Gods_.”

“ _I love you._ ”

Her heat felt so good, the tightness around him, the way she was spread beneath him like a feast just waiting to be devoured; even with the edge of pleasure pain as he fucked her to oversensitivity; Taiyang knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. His head dipped, lips latching around her nipple once more to tease and suck, the wet sound of his hips against her ass only spurring him on further. _He needed this, needed Raven. He couldn’t convince himself any longer that he didn’t. I love you. I love youIloveyouIloveyou—_

“ _Gonna’ cum._ Ah, fuck, _Rae_ .” Taiyang panted against her tit, Raven’s cunt tightening around him, almost trying to edge him on. Her fingers tight in his hair, the bandit dragged him up just enough for a messy kiss, before she moaned out her fevered order. “ _Cum in me, Tai._ ”

What could he do but just that? His moans muffled against the flushed skin of Raven’s neck as he buried himself inside her cunt, every inch, and felt his cock throb before he came. Globs of pearly white filled her up; a few shallow, stuttered thrusts making sure every drop did so, before he practically collapsed atop her.

All was quiet in the moments after, only the sound of their pants filling the air, both trying to catch their breath. Raven was the first to try and move, her hand firm but gentle on his shoulder as he was guided off of her. For a moment, Taiyang almost looked … _afraid._

“Raven—”

“I need to clean up, and so do you. Unless we want to talk about this while there’s cum on your shorts?”

A lone finger pointed crudely at the mess on the front of his cargo shorts, Taiyang could swear he felt the tips of his ears burn. Gods, it was like they’d been posessed by their teenage selves again, fucking on every surface and hidden room in Beacon without a care in the world. They weren’t those kids anymore, and Raven was right. When they stood up, Taiyang was about to turn and go to the downstairs bathroom, when Raven’s hand on his arm stopped him. Her gaze was almost unsure.

“I’m not going to run.”

_Oh._

Taiyang swallowed hard, and nodded.

“Okay. You can use the upstairs bathroom if you want?”

Raven let her hand fall, giving a silent nod before moving past him to go back up the stairs. When he heard the bathroom door shut, indigo eyes looked at the place on the floor they’d been not moments before and groaned, running a hand through his hair. _Good going, Tai. You wanna’ talk and instead you two fuck like rabbits._

A bark caught his attention, and Taiyang’s gaze snapped up to see Zwei in the doorway leading to the living room.

“Don’t give me that look, boy.”

Taiyang’s head fell when all he got in return was a displeased harrumph from the corgi before he turned around and trotted back inside. _He has a point. You didn’t have to fuck her._

_Shut up, me. You’re no help._

Gods help him.

* * *

They were back at the table again.

Both cleaned up, Taiyang had made the pair tea and now, Raven cradled hers in her palm and hand while they sipped in _almost_ pleasant silence. It couldn’t last forever, and when Taiyang set his cup on the table mat, Raven set hers down too.

“So. That … happened.”

A rare, half laugh left the bandit’s lips and Taiyang let his mouth tug into a smile.

“It did. Listen, Tai … I shouldn’t have come back.” When he moved to protest, Raven held up a hand with a firm stare. “I burned every bridge, you were my last resort.” Well, _ouch._ He knew it deep down but it still kind of stung to hear. Still, he could appreciate that for _once_ , Raven was being honest with him. “I … I needed to go somewhere, and when I thought of home …”

Patch. Even nearly two decades later, it was still home. Just one she’d always tried to deny.

“Rae … you know how long I waited for you to come back?” Raven pressed her lips together and shook her head. Taiyang smiled sadly. “Too long. When I lost Summer … I sat at the window and wondered if you felt it too. If something felt _wrong_ . I wondered if this would be enough for you to come back. When it wasn’t and I … I almost lost Yang, because I was _stupid_ and lost in this shit, I had to say enough.”

Raven felt her throat tighten, the feeling intensified when she saw tears threaten in indigo eyes. Still, she stayed silent. After everything, all the running, the hurt … she couldn’t take this too.

“But I still wanted you to come back. I still had that hope. And now ... “ A hand dragged along the side of his face and Taiyang sighed. “I don’t know if you can.”

It was hard to hear. It felt like the beginning of that ache had begun to gnaw on her ribs again, but Raven didn’t lash out. She didn’t let her acid tongue or barbed words drag him down any further; instead she truly _looked_ for once and saw the scars she had already left behind.

The scars she’d left on this home. On the man she’d loved.

On their _daughter._

Yang’s face in her minds’ eye, those lilac eyes, a perfect blend of two worlds, staring at her with the most painful mixture of hurt, betrayal, disgust, _fear_ ; was the breaking point for the bandit. Head cradled in her hands, shoulders trembled and shook but her sobs were silent. The tears burned hot down her face.

The feeling of strong arms around her as Taiyang moved from where he was sat to settle beside her did little to stem the flow, years of anger and wrong decisions and so much _hurt_ coming out in possibly the only place she’d felt _safe._ Soft, hushed sounds as his hand came to cradle her head; the pair stayed like that long into the night, Raven didn’t even realize she’d cried herself to exhaustion. The only thing in her consciousness before it fell to black was Taiyang’s arms, still around her. A safe haven.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

Raven looked utterly unimpressed as Taiyang dug around the shed. No reply given, only the rustling of protective covers and the metallic clang of various, discarded tools tossed aside; she was about to ask again when a triumphant cry came from the blonde.

“Aha!”

A pair of bronze dust knuckles, dust inlaid into the worn grooves, was held up in the air and Taiyang looked expectantly at the dark haired woman for a few moments before he groaned. “Do you know how long I’ve been looking for these? I thought for sure Qrow pawned them for booze like ten years ago.”

A roll of her eyes and Raven shook her head. She couldn’t deny that sounded _exactly_ like something her dear brother would do. Still, she was puzzled as to _why_ he was looking for his weapon, considering he’d apparently favoured hand to hand since he’d taken on a teaching role over a full time, active huntsman.

“Not that he wouldn’t, but why are you rummaging around in junk for those? Reliving the glory days?”

“Hey, madam. My glory days are still going strong, _thank you very much._ ”

“ _Tai_ —”

“We’re going to Atlas.”

The bandit blanched at that. A beat of silence, waiting for Taiyang to say _aha, fooled ya!_ or _you should see the look on your face_ ; Raven frowned when instead, he only looked serious.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Rae, you said you didn’t shut the vault. If Yang and Ruby and their friends have the relic, that means Salem is gonna’ go after them.” Her frown deepened at that, but neither could ignore the fear in her dark eyes.

“So _why_ Atlas?”  
  
“Where else would they go? Vacuo? They don’t know anyone there, but Atlas has _James._ If anyone could keep it safe, it’d be him.”

A derisive snort and Taiyang straightened up, stepping closer so his hand could rest on her shoulder. Meeting her gaze, he noted the fear still reigning in her gaze … but also the determination. That passionate, fiery resolve he loved.

“You said you wanted to help Yang. You can’t run anymore, Rae.”

Neither of them were so foolish as to believe either Yang or Qrow would forgive the bandit like nothing had happened, or that they would even accept her, but … she had to try. She was _tired_ of running. A beat, and Raven nodded, her hand coming to rest atop his. Taiyang smiled, his thumb rubbing against her hand with a soft tenderness; Raven giving a small smile in return.

_No more running._


End file.
